8 Rules for API Development

Kin Lane
Written by
I was reading a good post on getting your API right. They propose following these rules when developing your API:
  • Use HTTP
  • Use Your Verbs
  • Keep Your URL/URIs Consistent
  • Use Your Status Codes
  • Expose (And Accept) Multiple Data Formats
  • Protect Your Users with OAuth
  • Don't Shut Off HTTP Authentication Entirely
  • Document, Document, Document
There is a lot more to it, but this is an excellent framework to follow when developing your Application Programming Interface (API).